FOR all those that declare that Nintendo makes games for Children and is not ‘hardcore’, they can use Yoshi’s Woolly World as evidence for this.

Yoshi's Woolly World is a Solid Wii U title for Nintendo fans (Image: NINTENDO)

Yoshi’s Woolly World is a side-scrolling platformer for the Wii U and the first Yoshi game on a home console since Yoshi Story on the N64. It's developed by Good-Feel and a spiritual successor to Kirby’s Epic Yarn on the Wii.

Craft Island is a tiny place in the handmade ocean where the Yoshi Clan live. When Kamek decides to make all the woolly Yoshi’s into Wonder Wools and kidnap them, it's up to one Yoshi to save them.

The game has a single player and co-op experience for two players. I was very surprised by the lack of 4 player functionality as every Wii U platformer has this.

I completed the game twice. First I simply went through the levels and focused on getting to the end. The levels in the first two worlds are very easy, with the difficulty rising in the third world.

They were challenging and fun, any frustration I experienced was because of my own failures as a player.

It took me about 9 hours to get through, with each level taking about 10 minutes on average.

This works really well as a platformer as it has a nice pick up and play feel.

The second walkthrough was so that I could snap up all of the collectibles strewn through each world.

This took about eighteen hours, with the majority of the time spent exploring every area in the levels and replaying ones that proved tricky. This was a lot more frustrating and resulted in many screaming fits, but the rewards I felt were worth it.

There are four challenges that you can complete on each level to get a Gold ranking

Finish the level with full health. You start each with half so you need to collect this and not hit anything

Stamps - Collect gems throughout the level that can be used to buy power ups. But there are 20 stamps hidden in gems that can be used too

Flowers - Five flowers hidden per level. You need to get all of these in each world to unlock the bonus level for each world

Wonder Wool - There are five wools hidden in each level. Collect all 5 to unlock a different skin for Yoshi

Players navigate through levels via a World Map which is an entirely linear experience when compared to Super Mario Bros U. There are no secret exit to levels that unlock different paths in the world and there is not any special huts around the map.

There is the Linear A to B level types and also slightly more complex levels that are reminiscent of the Ghost Houses of the Mario franchise, where you have to navigate through a series of doors.

There is Amiibo functionality to the game that allows you to unlock additional skins for your Amiibo. Also, there is an option to use the Amiibo to unlock an AI co-op mode, but I found this to be really hard to control and very frustrating. It's not so much AI as just mimicking your moves. The problem is that they are behind you so jumping over pits does not work as they are on a distance delay.

Yoshi’s Woolly World uses the control system from Yoshi’s Island on the Super Nintendo. There is no double jump in this game to reach high spots. Instead you must jump and then hold the button to hover in the air to get a little big higher. You will also use this to navigate throughout part of the later levels so you need to master this ability and get use to pressing the A button constantly.

The graphics of Yoshi’s Woolly World is what separates it from other platformers on the Wii U. The world is made of yarn and cloth and all things you would expect from a sewing box. It's a very fun and friendly environment to play in with the classic Nintendo charm.

The game features 64 music tracks. However, you mainly only hear about 6 of them depending on the mood of the level. It is in the later worlds that you begin to hear more variety in soundtracks and they are all very enjoyable but cause audio whiplash because you are not used to hearing different music. Thankfully they are very inoffensive and catchy and I found myself whistling along to them quite happily.

The sound effects are of the quality you expect from a Nintendo game, with Yoshi's little noises being one of the cutest things in the game.

I had a great time completing Yoshi’s Woolly World, it’s a fun and simple solid platformer but it lacks but lacks the breadth of New Super Mario Bros. U, Rayman Legends and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze. If you haven't played any of them I suggest picking up them instead of this as they are superior platformers that demand your attention.

If you have played all of them you will have fun with this but it's a very simple experience.

It suffers from following a Nintendo template of World and level Types, with the game starting with the typical Forrest/Field world and then having a dessert and Ice world.

It is only in the later levels that you actually start getting some innovation in levels and layouts that utilise the control system.

Furthermore, although the game is set in a knitting aesthetic, there are too less levels that utilise this. For example, you don't get any levels with Velcro until later in the game.

The game feels like it was designed as a platformer first, with the art style added on to make it stand out from other platformers.

There are short mini games in some levels where you are transformed into things such as motorcycle, plane and an umbrella. You must navigate through these with a time limit.

These are great fun and their rarity makes them more enjoyable.

Yoshi's Woolly World is a solid good game. It abides to the quality standard that you expect from Nintendo but doesn't go any further the that.